![\"Make](\"https:\/\/timingapp.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/featimage_secret.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.\u201d That\u2019s what Abraham Lincoln said, anyway. According to American history, he achieved quite a bit in his tenure as the 16th American president. What was Abe\u2019s secret? Making a plan \u2013 or in this case, preparing an axe. (If you\u2019re interested, you can also take a look at another historical superhero of productivity<\/a> \u2013 Ben Franklin, according to productivity influencer Thomas Frank).<\/p>\nYour plan helps you slay your goals \u2013 and become a champion at productivity. <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n Your plan for the day (or week, month, year) is truly the axe that helps you chop down the tree in front of you \u2013 whether that\u2019s a monumental project, new business launch, or just a freakishly long To-Do list.<\/p>\n Abe knew the secret sauce. The secret sauce is in the preparation.<\/p>\n In the following article, we\u2019ll talk about the secret of the world\u2019s most productive people \u2013 making a plan and sticking to it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You can bet that super-powered entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and media moguls like Oprah Winfrey didn\u2019t get to where they\u2019re at now by allowing distractions to dictate their days.<\/p>\n They built businesses and empires through strategic and disciplined planning.<\/p>\n – Oprah sets personal deadlines<\/a> and refuses to back down from them. According to productivity expert Matt East<\/a>, \u201cFundamental principles drive high-performance and productivity much more than we think and something as simple as making a plan and sticking to it is a perfect example of this. It’s almost impossible to focus on the projects, activities, and relationships that are most important and meaningful to you each day without a plan<\/strong>. If you want to execute at the highest level possible, you need a plan and you need to see it through.\u201d<\/p>\n The bottom line? Discipline is foundational to being productive.<\/p>\n Now, for the bread-and-butter of your productivity strategy: making a plan.<\/p>\n Ideally, your plan should take into account both your short-term and long-term goals. It should focus on priorities (As productivity influencer Chris Bailey<\/a> says, \u201cNot all tasks in your work are created equal.\u201d) Your plan should realistically assess your available time, leverage your ideal working hours, and leave some room for short breaks and meals (you can also check out our article on micro-scheduling<\/a>).<\/p>\n Finally, your plan should strike a balance between setting realistic deadlines and driving hard toward maximum productivity.<\/p>\n Here are a couple strategies for making a plan:<\/p>\n Short-term goals are your daily To Do\u2019s that are absolutely non-negotiable<\/em>.<\/p>\n That means that only under very rare circumstances will you abdicate your responsibility to finishing these tasks. They\u2019re your \u201cbulls-eye\u201d and finishing them each day will leave you feeling accomplished and on top of the ball.<\/p>\n Your short-term goals may look like 2-3 larger projects with 1-2 smaller administrative tasks, or one large project with a series of administrative tasks. In any case, you\u2019ll want to take time each week to set goals for the next week, or if it works better for you, do this on a day-to-day basis.<\/p>\n Ultimately, staying true to these short-term tasks will ultimately help you achieve long-term success.<\/p>\n In making a plan for daily success, don\u2019t forget about factoring in your long-term goals. These may be larger professional growth pieces, or projects that will help you with business development. In any case, you\u2019ll want to keep these in mind when planning your day-to-day.<\/p>\n For example, if you dream of learning to code or starting a side hustle, you\u2019ll never reach those goals without creating time and space for them on a daily (or weekly) basis.<\/p>\n If you make a list of goals but you can\u2019t stay accountable to it, your list just gets longer…and your tasks stay untouched.<\/p>\n That\u2019s where the second part of \u201cthe secret\u201d is so critical \u2013 sticking to your plan.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how to use Timing to stay accountable to your plan:<\/p>\n One of the most powerful aspects of Timing is that you get a helpful visual overview of your timing usage at the end of each day. Here\u2019s how we suggest an end-of-day review that helps you to learn to stay accountable to your plan.<\/p>\n 1.\u00a0 Check your productivity score.<\/strong><\/p>\n In your “Stats” tab, you\u2019ll find a \u201cproductivity score\u201d that helps you assess how well you used your time. You can view this in two different ways \u2013 in an overall score on the left side of your dashboard, and in the bar graph on the right side of your dashboard (adjust settings to productivity score), where you\u2019ll see how productive you were per hour.<\/p>\n This gives you a good starting point for understanding why (or why not<\/em>) you finished your daily goals.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 Review your timeline.<\/strong><\/p>\n Next, go to your “Activities” tab, where you\u2019ll find a breakdown of how many hours and minutes you spent on various clients and projects (given that you\u2019ve created project categories). This should give you a good idea of how well you siloed your time for goals. For example, if you spent 4 hours on a particular project \u2013 when you anticipated it would take 2 \u2013 how did that impact the remainder of your goals?<\/p>\n At Timing, we appreciate the beauty of automated, automatic time-tracking that doesn\u2019t require you to manually set a timer.<\/p>\n That being the case, setting a timer can be an intentional way to stay on task. To do so in Timing, simply use the Menu\u2019s Start\/Stop feature.<\/p>\n To effectively stick to your plan, you\u2019ll have to actually schedule your To-Do items \u2013 both long- and short-term. Doing so keeps you focused in order to remain on schedule.<\/p>\n Here at Timing, we\u2019re big fans of calendar apps \u2013 and luckily, you can sync your calendar app with Timing.<\/p>\n The result?<\/p>\n A timeline (found in your “Activities” tab) that you can use to continually check in on your progress, stay organized, and ruthlessly meet your deadlines (just like Oprah!).<\/p>\n To schedule your To-Do items on Timing, you can create calendar events on your Mac (or iPhone<\/a>). Integrate your calendar to Timing to produce a synced, efficient timeline you can use to stay organized on a daily basis.<\/p>\n Maxing out your productivity using the strategies above can help you get more work done, faster. It can ultimately increase your earning potential<\/a> and income. It can even give you peace of mind, knowing you\u2019ve designed a strategy to help you stay organized and focused on a day-to-day basis.<\/p>\n In the pursuit of greater productivity, however, don\u2019t forget about self-care and balance. Schedule breaks<\/a> into your day, create space to rest and have fun, and when you don\u2019t meet your goals, be patient with yourself and try again tomorrow!<\/p>\n\n
Discipline is key.<\/h2>\n
\n– Slack Founder Cal Henderson checks his email only once<\/a> daily \u2013 refusing to allow his inbox to keep him from more important tasks.
\n– And Steve Jobs was ruthless about prioritization<\/a>, due in part to his overall minimalist approach to life.<\/p>\nMake a plan.<\/h2>\n
Set short-term goals.<\/h3>\n
![\"Make](\"https:\/\/timingapp.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/image1_secret.jpg\")
<\/p>\nPlan long-term benchmarks.<\/h3>\n
Stay accountable to your plan.<\/h2>\n
End-of-day review.<\/h3>\n
![\"Make](\"https:\/\/timingapp.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/image2_secret.png\")
<\/p>\nSet a timer.<\/h3>\n
Schedule your To-Do items.<\/h2>\n
A Final Note: Don\u2019t Forget to Take a Break<\/h2>\n